Today I’ve got a special paleo guest post and recipe for you from my UK friend Mark Welan.

Mark’s a fairly new convert to the paleo lifestyle and author of the fun and informative Paleo Castle blog.

Check out Mark’s Paleo Castle website…it’s a lot of fun!

His colorful site is full of great insight and tips for paleo newbies, including his Paleo Castle Comics that’s not to be missed.

Plus it seems this guy is quite the cook – bonus!

We’ve been online friends for a while now, and he’s been nice enough to share this wonderful paleo recipe with us!

Personally, anything with apples and pork has me standing in line!

Be sure and visit Paleo Castle and become a fan…Mark’s website and social links are listed right below his recipe.

Hey there! My name’s Mark, and it’s my pleasure to be able to share this lovely winter-warming recipe with you today.

There’s nothing better than coming home out of the cold and finding your slow-cooker has been busy cooking a lovely meal for you, complete with a juicy, fatty, buttery sauce to eat it with.

My Paleo diet began about a year ago, and quickly ended about a week after that.

Since then, I’ve started and failed about 20 more times, until about May 2014. Since then I’ve fallen into a happy rhythm of enjoying the occasional non-paleo snack without that spiraling into a blurry two-week junk food bender.

I started blogging about my diet for this reason: to help fellow greedy paleo newbies stick to their diet and attain the health that they deserve.

I think of the Paleo diet as a well-kept secret (butter + bacon = weight loss?) and I wanted to spread the word. Since then, I’ve found immense pleasure in helping people fit Paleo principals into their daily lives with easy-to-cook recipes and practical advice.

Making diet easy is my priority and my slow-cooker is my best mate. I love fatty meats and wintery tastes, and that’s how this recipe came about.

I encourage you to have a go; you only need a few ingredients and a big old lump of pork. It works using a pork loin or a pork shoulder on the bone – though I prefer to use a boneless pork loin. I also prefer to use a slow cooker but you can do it in the oven in half the time.

A big thank-you to Trina (who has been so friendly and helpful) for letting me share this with you guys!

I’m a huge fan of Paleo Newbie and I’m delighted to be able to post here.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

4 Apples cored and peeled

2 Parsnips Pork loin (1kg) (about 2.3 lbs)

2 Onions (250g)

Mushrooms (about 12)

Seasoning

Salt & Pepper

Cinnamon (1.5 tsp)

Grass Fed Butter

What to do:

Put your pork in the slow cooker with a small amount of water and layer a generous amount of butter across the top of it. Leave the fat on for a juicier, tastier result and let it cook until it’s tender enough to be pulled apart with your fork – about 8 hours on a low setting. (Don’t actually pull it apart yet though!)

When you’re ready to cook the rest of your food, place the pork high in the oven on highest heat to get the fat nice and crispy. Season it with a bit of salt and pepper too.

Peel and chop your apple and parsnip into small 1.5cm cubes (about 1/2-inch) and boil them both for 20 minutes in salted water.

Whilst they’re boiling chop up your mushrooms and onions and throw them in a frying pan. Sauté them gently in the leftover juice from your slow-cooked pork for about 8 minutes.

Drain the water from your apple and parsnip and add your cinnamon, some butter, and some of the juice from the pork. Mash it all together. Take your pork out of the oven and pull it apart with your fork.

Lay out a bed of mash and serve the pork, mushroom and onion mix on top of it. It’s up to you whether you give everybody a bit of crispy fat, or you horde it to yourself.

And that’s it, enjoy!

If you have a go at this or you plan to then let me know, I’d love to hear from you, and hear how it turns out!